This mid-sized, but compact and bushy aster has daisy-like blue lavender flowers which bloom late summer through mid fall. These plants are attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds, are drought-tolerant and grow well in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 through 9. You can find Symphyotrichum oblongifolium 'October Skies' (the NC Botanical Garden 2000 Wildflower of the Year) asters growing in several new beds near the end of the Perennial and National Boxwood Collections, including the circular bed with a newly planted 'Natchez' crapemyrtle. [Image: Thomas G. Barnes @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database]